Sephira nodded as she listened to Eru's question and Graayth's answer. "There really is no telling." She said. "Even though one is mammalian and the other reptilian, they are still the same disease-only different strains." She was very worried about what they were uncovering, and that it had been going on for several weeks. "Uprooting them isn't going to be easy." She said. "They could have their own people already in powerful positions."

Joanna nodded. "If you're finished examining the body we can go back upstairs." While they all quietly filed out of the hospital and back out into the street she thought about what they were uncovering and speculating about. If it were true that a group of mature reptilian Lycans had come to Luanda to take over it and establish it as their own by kidnapping and biting key people then holding them prisoner until they transformed if they survived, then it was going to take a significant effort to dislodge them. First they needed information about who were Lycans and find out where the lair was.

A fellow Lycan like Graayth or Eru could percieve one if they got close enough. As could Vincent if they got too close to Aiden. Jo thought about splitting the hunters into two groups with Graayth on one and Eru on the other. One group could pretend to be 'touring' Luanda while seeking out the Lycans and the other group would have to head out into the jungles to physically search for the lair as they sought out vampire nests back in Delmi. Once they were outside she turned to her group and explained her plan. When she was finished she looked at Sephira. "Do you or Flack know the surrounding layout of the jungles well?" She asked.

Sephira walked out with the others, very worried about what was happening in her home. She listened to Jo and nodded when she asked her if she or her brother knew the surrounding area. "We do." She said. "We used to play and hunt out there all the time."

Aiden worked quietly at her desk doing the administrative work that came with her job. Unless she looked directly at him when he smiled and saw his fangs it was difficult to believe that he was a vampire. She did glance up when two male Elviri entered her office dressed in loose worker clothing. Apparently they were maintance workers come to do some minor repairs for her office. However, they weren't scheduled to arrive for another three days and that raised her suspicion. She glanced warily at Vincent and Phlack, her expression letting them know that something wasn't quite right.

Phlack rose warily when Aiden glanced at him after two male Elviri walked into the office. The look on her face told him that they weren't supposed to be there, so he moved closer to her, protectively. No one was going to harm her or their baby as long as he was there.

Vincent was already alert when the two Elviri entered the office. Anytime anyone came in, until Aiden let him know otherwise, he would regard any entrance into the office suspiciously. When she looked around at him, her look clearly telling him that something was wrong, he moved quickly, getting between her and the men, and looked them up and down. "That's far enough." He said, his tone brooking no argument. "Especially considering the fact that you two aren't what you appear to be. His senses had already told him that those two were Lycans, but something was very different about them.

Jo half-smiled. "Good. All right then, you, me, Tialyn and Eru will head off into the jungles to try and find the Lycan lair ourselves. We're looking for caves or sheltered areas they might choose to make a home." She decided. "Arjhay, Gaelan and Graayth, I'd like you to seek out any Lycans in the town itself. You could try posing as tourists to keep the locals from suspecting anything." She suggested. "We'll meet back at the guest house just before sundown for dinner where we can exchange notes on what we found if anything. But try not to be late because if anyone isn't back by nightfall then the rest of us will have to assume something bad has happened to you." Jo cautioned them, hoping that they would be able to identify all the reptile-lycans in town and find the lair quickly. If necessary they could attempt to capture a known reptile-lycan and see if they could find out the location of the lair from him/her if searching the hard way didn't work quick enough.

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Graayth nodded his acknowledgement of Jo's instructions and stepped back a pace so that he, Arjhay and Gaelan could begin their 'tour' of Luanda once everyone knew what they were doing. He would prefer to be out in the jungles hunting but he understood why Jo had chosen the two teams so that there was one supernatural per team. He accepted the logic and waited.

Gaelan glanced across as Sephira, he wanted to go with her but it made a lot of sense for him to stay in the town. He might not have the ability of one of the supernaturals to sense lycan presence but he was Elviri and he knew how his people behaved. He felt sure there would be something different about them if they were infected.

"All right." Sephira said, nodding, then smiled encouragingly at Gaelan. "We'll be fine." She said. "But you be careful too." She led the way into the woods, towards some caves she knew about that she and Phlack used to play in, hopefully they would be in one of those.

Vincent continued to stare down the two Lycans and did not move. He drew his sword in preparation for whatever they thought they could do. "I know what you are and you know what I am, so let's dispense with pleasantries." He said.

One of the men nodded. "Very well. Though why a creature such as yourself is protecting a pregnant mortal is beyond us." He stated. Then they both transformed into their half-beast forms which resembled crocodiles. Snapping their powerful jaws viciously the pair of crocodile-Lycans pounced on Vincent as one.

Vincent slashed out with his sword as soon as the crocodiles pounced and slashed one of them through his midsection and ripped upwards while at the same time ducking under the both of them. He punched the other one under his chin as hard as he could, sending it backwards. "It's none of your business what I choose to do with my life." He told him, staying between the two reptilians and Aiden. He swung his sword at the one he'd slashed and smoothly sliced off his head, then turned to face the second one. "I choose to fight evil, and you are evil."

Phlack stayed beside Aiden and watched as Vincent started fighting the two ferocious crocodile things. He didn't know if he could fight them, but if Vincent wasn't successful in killing them he would have to try to protect her and her baby, which he was willing to do. He pulled a knife and stayed very close to her as he watched the battle. The big vampire had already beheaded one of them, but he still had another one to go.

Professor Senegoid stepped off to the side with Gaelan and Graayth upon hearing Jo voice her plan that they should scour the town. "It's a pleasure to be working with you fellows," he said, giving a little salute with the silver head of his walking stick. "It's been a good many years since I've had a day on the town with the lads. Last time I did that, I woke up with a small tattoo and a big girl named Margarita." He then turned and pointed his stick at Eru, who was moving off toward the woods with Sephira, Tialyn and Jo. "You, young lady, must be extra careful while out there in the wilderness," he said. "There is peril enough without you being a danger to yourself."

"Please, Professor," replied Eru, walking backwards to keep up with the other women as she spoke to him. "I'm not the same clumsy student who rode into Delmi that day." She then managed to trip over a very nondescript piece of street and fell on her behind. She jumped up and dusted herself off while hurrying to catch up. "Er... but thanks for being concerned."

"All right then, you, me, Tialyn and Eru will head off into the jungles to try and find the Lycan lair ourselves. We're looking for caves or sheltered areas they might choose to make a home."

Tialyn nodded and stepped closer to Jo and the group heading into the jungles. The Elviri hadn't been in a jungle for a very long time, but she still remembered how to navigate through one...she hoped.

Professor Senegoid stepped off to the side with Gaelan and Graayth upon hearing Jo voice her plan that they should scour the town. "It's a pleasure to be working with you fellows," he said, giving a little salute with the silver head of his walking stick. "It's been a good many years since I've had a day on the town with the lads. Last time I did that, I woke up with a small tattoo and a big girl named Margarita." He then turned and pointed his stick at Eru, who was moving off toward the woods with Sephira, Tialyn and Jo. "You, young lady, must be extra careful while out there in the wilderness," he said. "There is peril enough without you being a danger to yourself."

Gaelan smiled at the Professor. "We'll be honoured to have you accompany us," he said. "Your knowledge can only help our quest, just as long as we don't all end up with tattoos."

Jo smiled in amusement at Eru and the Professor's parting exchange and she glanced over her shoulder as they headed into the jungles. "I'll try to look out for her." She assured him before they were out of sight and earshot heading for the nearest stretch of jungle. She made sure that the flask of water she carried was full and that she had a small bag of supplies attached to her belt along with a roll of bandages. It was important to go prepared on these excursions outside of town-particularly as it was uncomfortably hot for her and it had not yet reached midday. She hoped that Sephira remembered enough about the lay of the land outside of town enough that they would be able to find the lair or at least signs that the reptile-lycans were out there quickly. Within a few minutes Jo and those with her were out of town and standing at the edge of the jungle. "Which way should we head in first?" She asked Sephira.

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Graayth chuckled as they waited for Jo and the others to leave, then continued down the street they were in. "I too, would rather end the day without tattoos." He remarked dryly. "Perhaps we should stop by Aiden, Vincent and Phlack to keep them updated about our plans." He suggested. So far he hadn't sensed the presence of any lycans in town but if they were around in sufficient numbers necessary to make it their own and eventually turn all the residents into them then he was certain that they would encounter one soon.

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The second crocodile-Lycan didn't hesitate for a moment when Vincent beheaded his companion. He lunged at the vampire and grabbed his sword arm. He knew that he was stronger than a vampire-particularly a Daywalker and used that to his advantage. With a heave he snapped Vincent's arm and kicked him in the stomach sending Vincent flying backward to crash into a desk. He bounded towards him with the intention of finishing him off quickly. Once he did that, there would be nothing standing between him and his goal.

Sephira stopped at the edge of the forest, then pointed and headed in the direction that she knew were some caves that she and Phlack used to play in. "There are caves this way." She said. "Some probably big enough to house a lair, particularly if they wanted to keep it hidden."

Vincent hissed loudly in pain and dropped his sword when the reptilian broke his arm. He knew he had gotten lucky with that first one and now he was lying amidst the remains of the shattered desk while the crocodile was pressing his advantage. However, Vincent had been taught all manner of fighting and he wasn't about to go down that easily. When it rushed him and pounced he brought his feet up and kicked out, catching it in the gut and sending it into the opposite wall with a crash. He was already standing and starting to regenerate his broken arm when it leaped up and rushed him again. "Get her out of here!" He told Phlack. If he wasn't able to kill this one, then they at least had to get her out of there and to the others, he wasn't about to make things easy for it.

Phlack watched the fight with growing horror as he heard the bones in Vincent's arm snap and he was sent crashing into a desk. When he kicked it off and it rushed him again, Phlack pitched the knife in his hand at the creature, aiming for its chest, but it was so fast that the knife didn't hit anything vital, it just caused the creature to pause. He heard the vampire yell at him to get Aiden out, and he had already decided to do that, and had already grabbed her hand and was running for the door with her. They made it out the door and continued running, not at all sure if Vincent was going to survive the battle or not.

Vincent observed the Lycan stagger just a bit when the knife that Phlack threw embedded itself in its chest. The wound inflicted would not be fatal, in fact it would barely slow the thing down. He was glad the Elviri had the good sense to grab his mate and run even as he was yelling at him to do so, and the quick little things were already out the door even before he could complete that thought. He thought quickly while the creature stopped for just a moment to yank the knife out so it could regenerate, and spotted his sword nearby. As the Lycan rushed for him again, he used what strength he had left to telekinetically bring the sword to his uninjured hand and as the crocodile reached him, he brought it up, ramming the blade into its throat. He let go of the sword and collapsed where he was, getting very weak from the fight and having to regenerate his broken arm. He knew he wouldn't be able to make it back to the guest house, the sun was already too strong for his weakened condition, but at least Aiden was safe for now.

Aiden watched with a mixture of horror and disbelief as Vincent fought the two crocodile things. With the definate proof going on right in front of her she now realised that supernatural creatures were very, very real. Which meant that the reports of strange things that haunted the night or prowled in the shadows that she had always dismissed over the years, might have been real also. Something would need to be done, these thigns couldn't continue unchecked. When Phlack grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the exit when Vincent started to get into trouble she didn't resist. In fact Aiden was very soon running as fast as she could manage out of the office building and in the general direction of the hospital where the Vampire Hunters might be.

Phlack was very worried about Vincent as he ran alongside Aiden as they headed for the hospital. As strong as the vampire was, he seemed to be getting weaker as he fought the other creature, and he hoped that they could find the others and get him help soon. He wasn't sure what they could do for the vampire as he had no idea what they did when injured, but he was sure the others would since they had obviously worked together for a long time. As they turned up the street that led to the hospital, he could see Graayth, the professor and Gaelan walking up it. "Help!" He shouted at them, continuing to run in their direction, though he was becoming winded as he did so and had started gasping to try to catch his breath.

Phlack stopped when he reached them and took several deep breaths before he spoke again as he was winded from running. "It's Vincent." He said, trying to explain. "Two men came in and he got between them and Aiden and they changed into crocodile creatures. He killed one, but the other...I don't know, he was still trying to fight it even though it broke his arm. We got out of there and found you." He was so confused, he hoped he was making sense as he turned back the other way. "We have to go back and help him, he didn't look so good."

Vincent lay there after the second creature died and considered his options. He had drained himself pretty badly fighting those crocodiles and healing his arm and now he knew he would never make it back to the guest house so he could feed without the sun killing him, in fact, he could barely move at all and he wasn't sure at all if Aiden and Phlack would be able to get help. He hoped no one else came in here either, because he knew he might not be able to control his need to feed and that would be disastrous. He closed his eyes, he was so weary, and drifted off to sleep-maybe if he just slept for awhile...he just hoped again that no one would come in and try to wake him.

Graayth was slightly startled when Phlack and Aiden came hurrying up to them and explained what had happened. "It made sense, let's go." With the others he ran to the administrative building where the fight had taken place and went inside and looked around. Two very noticably dead Lycans lay on the floor and now he understood. They were in half-beast form and clearly the Lycanism disease had spread to the local crocodiles in the area some time ago and this breed was the result. But he also noticed Vincent and cautiously approached although he didn't get too near. The vampire seemed to be sleeping. "We need to bring one of his females here. Unless one of you wants to volunteer to be fed from so he can regain strength. If he's sleeping here then he is very weak." Graayth told them bluntly.

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Aiden followed Graayth inside and listened to what he had to say. "No need, I can send one of my messengers to the guest house. I'll be right back." She went into the adjoining corridor and went down it to another part of the building into a smaller office and explained to one of her aides that she needed them to run to the guest house of Sephira's family Chrystos, and bring back one of the females in Vincent's quarters as quickly as possible. One of them nodded and sped out of the office building. Nodding in satisfaction Aiden returned to the others. "It's done, the messenger should be back shortly with one of the girls."

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Vilen, the aide that Aiden had chosen to relay the message ran swiftly through the streets until he reached the guest house on Chrystos land, knocked on the door and explained to the staff there what he wanted. They lead him to Vincent's quarters where the three girls were. He inclined his head to them respectfully. "I bring a message from Councillor Aiden." He began. "She says that the one called Vincent needs one of you to come with me to her office right away as he seems to be having some difficulties." He explained dutifully.